found that at temperatures above around 75 degrees Fahrenheit, those working a single shift were around four times more likely to experience occupational heat strain. Around 30% of workers reported productivity losses, while around 15% working regularly under heat stress reported kidney-related health conditions.
Austin told Insider this loss in productivity particularly impacts lower-income workers, as well as Black and Hispanic employees.Hispanic workers in California worked on average 14 more days outside annually than white workers at temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Climate change more broadly is expected to damage the US economy over the next few decades, as crop failures, flooding, and continued loss of productivity are expected to worsen over the next few years. Alongside this, insurance rates are expected to increase significantly, as some insurers are not only raising rates in high-risk areas but also pulling out entirely — State Farm, California's largest homeowner insurance company, pulled out of California amid wildfires.
"There are all of these stresses that are going to be placed on our infrastructure and on our bodies, so it's going to transform our lives and therefore our economy in ways that that we can't fully appreciate," Austin told Insider."We need policies to protect people who have to work outdoors and make sure that they don't have to work outdoors when the temperature's in the triple digits.
With temperatures still blazing across the country, some workers are left with a difficult decision: work less and get paid less, or risk their health and keep their job.